Care for our 2 dogs and garden, with easy access to London and Cambridge

Introduction

We are a busy family with 2 kids, a labradoodle, and a young, bouncey and anxious malti poo. We love animals and the outdoors. We live in a small town on the edge of the countryside with beautiful walks on our doorstep, whilst also being close to Cambridge and London that are easily accessible by train. We have so enjoyed using Trusted House sitters over the years; our pets get to stay home, happy, whilst we get the chance to welcome different people from around the globe into our home. Jessy our beloved labradoodle is well behaved, and good with all humans and dogs. She has exercise intolerance so although loves her walks doesn't have as much energy as she used to. Lyra our maltese toy poodle cross is cute, cuddly and funny and can be well behaved when dog treats are involved. Although great with most dogs she can be nervous and barky with strangers, and needs help to deal with this anxiety. It sometimes takes her time to get used to new people, and ideally our hoise sitter would have experience with anxious dogs. Both dogs need a minimum of 2 x 20 minute walks a day, but are always happy for more than this. Our house sitters usually arrive the day before we travel so we can introduce them to our pets, home and local walks and and get to know each other over a meal together.

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Home & location

We live in a Victorian semi detached house on a friendly street on the edge of Baldock, a small market town, with a beautiful ancient centre. The Hertfordshire countryside starts 2 minutes from our house. We are a 4 minute walk from the train station, with a 30 minute journey to Cambridge or 40 minutes into Kings Cross (central London and the Eurostar). For housesitters we offer our downstairs guest room which has a super comfy double sofa bed with a memory foam mattress and goose down duvet. There is a smart TV in the room with free to view channels plus Netflix and Amazon prime. There is also a downstairs shower room/ toilet at your disposal. Then you are welcome to use our downstairs living areas: a living room with open fire, plus our kitchen/diner/living area, with stereo and record player, which opens onto the garden. We spend most of our time in this open airey room. We love to cook so it is a well equipped kitchen. On the patio we have a large corner sofa, plus a gravel barbecue area with table and chairs. Baldock has a few shops, quite a few restaurants, cafes and some fantastic pubs. We also have a large Tesco Extra store ( hyper market) which has anything you might need. We have some great community events throughout the year, including the Baldock Festival in May, with Beer Festival and medieval street fair. Then there is Balstock, our Annual Music festival in the summer. Ivel Springs Nature reserve is on our doorstep, aswell as miles of fields with limitless walks to take Jessy and Lyra on.

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Responsibilities

Walking the dogs 2 times a day. You'll need to keep an eye on Lyra as she has a tendency to bark at strangers without dogs or chase joggers. Always keep treats to hand and use them as a distraction in these situations. We'd be happy to arrange a dog walker if you wish to make day trips on odd days. You will need to pick up dog poo on walks, as well as in the garden. If possible, maintaining Lyra's training ( sit, down, stay, wait, off) and ensuring you are consistent with the rules, e.g. no jumping on living room furniture) Brushing Lyra ocasionally. Feeding dogs ( twice a day). In summer watering garden, pots and baskets, and if possible helping remove the odd weed, snail and slug, and giving our tiny lawn a mow once a week.

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Meet the pets

Photo of Jessy

Jessy

11 years

Photo of Lyra

Lyra

3 years

Sitter Reviews (7)

Homeowner Reviews (0)

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We had the pleasure of house sitting for Christina and her family for almost 2 weeks in 2017. We had no idea what to expect because it was our first time house sitting. We had the best time dog and kitty sitting in Baldock, UK. The house was great, the location was perfect. We live in Florida and flew into London for a few days before our house sit started. The town of Baldock is 45 min away from London on the train. Christina had her fantastic kids met us at the train station and walked us to her house. The home is one block from the train which makes the location perfect. We did not have a car and were not sure what to expect of the town but restaurants and pubs are 5-10 min walk. There is a Tesco (like a Walmart to Americans) 15 min walk from the home. There are small towns in the area you can explore by hoping on the train. Christina and her family had us for lunch on our first day of the pet sit and showed us around her home and covered how to care for the pets. The cats are indoor/outdoor so it made it easy to care for them. Jessie is their amazing dog. She is so easy to fall in love with and so well behaved. The field where we walked the dog everyday was lovely and everyone in the town is so friendly. Christina, her husband and her kids could have not been more accommodating. She allowed us to use her kitchen, which is amazing. The room we stayed in was perfect size and had a TV. Their home is very clean and in such a perfect location. Petsitting in Bladock allowed us to live like the locals. I would recommend housesitting for them if you get the chance. It was the perfect vacation, the perfect location and for the perfect family...and oh that dog Jessie she is tons of joy.

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Stayed: 23 Aug 2017 - 01 Sep 2017
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Stayed: 28 May 2017 - 02 Jun 2017

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Christina
Last time sitter needed: 8 months 7 days ago